The present invention relates generally to the display, advertising and sign industries, and to related processes of forming display lettering such as that process known as a vinyl transfer process. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel computer-controlled master reproducer for depositing a master reproduction on a substrate.
The display, advertising and sign industries presently utilize a vinyl-transfer method for generating desired patterns and forms such as lettering. The process is a labor-intensive one that involves placing or stamping a desired pattern into a sheet of dry, adhesive-backed vinyl film that is positioned on a substrate. After stamping the pattern in the sheet, and then cutting the same from the sheet, an arduous process known as weeding is performed. Weeding involves manually removing undesired areas of the sheet that do not form part of the now-present pattern. Next, the cut and weeded pattern is transferred to a desired surface and positioned by rolling or other suitable methods to produce the desired display.
Using such a process, desired vinyl lettering is applied to, for example, an office or vehicle door to identify a business name.
In addition to labor and time limitations, the conventional vinyl-transfer process is limited generally to solid-color applications, and to size and material specifications of commercially available sheets of vinyl stock.
Until now, there has not been proposed a system that overcomes the above drawbacks of the conventional vinyl-transfer method.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a system for depositing a desired pattern which overcomes the drawbacks of prior-art proposals.
Another object is to provide such a system that allows for deposition of a desired colored film on a surface in a tightly controlled location and a uniform thickness.
Yet another object is to provide such a system that does not require the steps of cutting and weeding that are required by the conventional vinyl-transfer method.
Another important object of the invention is to provide such a system that is capable of producing final desired shapes or forms on carrier material to be placed on and bonded to a desired surface location such as an office door.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a system that can be cost-effectively manufactured.
In brief summary, one aspect of the invention includes a computer-controlled master reproducer for depositing a master reproduction on a substrate. The invention includes a master source containing in a machine-readable format one or more masters each having a shape characteristic and a color characteristic. Also included is a curable-material source, and gun structure interconnected with the curable-material source for shooting the curable material toward the substrate to deposit the master reproduction on it. The gun structure is constructed to shoot the curable material in microdroplet form to deposit curable material on the substrate, preferably in the form of discrete dots of that material.
The master reproducer aspect of the invention also includes orientation structure for orienting the gun structure with respect to the substrate, and a computer controller in communication with the master source, the curable-material source, the gun structure, and the orientation structure. The computer controller includes a set of control instructions for (1) reading the master and, based upon that reading, (2) for transfering the curable material from the curable-material source to the gun structure, and (3) for causing the gun structure to shoot the curable material at the substrate to deposit the master reproduction on such substrate.
Other features of the master reproducer include master-obtaining structure in communication with the master source. The master-obtaining structure may include one or all of the following: (1) a scanner constructed for scanning an image such as a photograph and storing the scanned image in a machine-readable format, (2) a CAD device to allow for a user-designed master, and (3) a modem for communication with another master source.
The master reproducer of the invention may also include a curing device, such as a pulsating UV source, for curing the curable-material after it is deposited on the substrate. Preferably, the UV source is a UV laser. There may also be plural containers of curable material, each containing a different colored curable material, and the gun structure would then include plural nozzles, one nozzle for each container. For that version, the computer controller includes a set of control instructions for color-specific transfering of curable material to the appropriate nozzle based upon the reading of the color characteristic of the master, thereby to deposit a preselected color of the master reproduction on the substrate.
The gun structure deposits the master reproduction on the substrate in a form that allows the entire master reproduction to be removed from the substrate in one piece after the curable material has cured.
The master reproducer may also include an adhesive source and adhesive-conduit structure for connecting the adhesive source to the gun structure. In that way, adhesive may be delivered to the gun structure via the adhesive-conduit structure, and shot at the substrate to adhere the to-be-deposited master reproduction to the same.
Other aspects of the invention include a master reproduction with a body formed using the above-described master reproducer, and a method of depositing a master reproduction on a substrate in a form that allows for removal of the master reproduction in one piece.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following description of the preferred embodiment.